A Matter of Trust
by takisys
Summary: From the end of The Doctor Dance and Boomtown, Jack and the Doctor went from hostile suspicion to reliable friendship, how did this happen? This as already been done, more than once but this one is linked with my Archives series
1. Chapter 1

**Title:** A Matter of Trust

**Characters/pairings:** Nine/Jack/Rose

**Chapter Rating:** PG-13

**Spoilers/warnings:** none

**Beta:** imzadimylove

**Disclaimer:** Still not making money out of this. Characters are still belonging to RTD and the BBC.

**Summary:** From the end of The Doctor Dance and Boomtown, Jack and the Doctor went from hostile suspicion to reliable friendship, how did this happen?

**Author's note:** About Jack's pheromones you can read _The Poisoned Gift_ which is the chapter 5 of the _Archives_ but can be read as a standalone.

.

Prologue

These small particles that were incredibly smart Chula nanogenes dispersed to do their job and fix their previous mistakes, operating a few small miracles in the process.

"Everybody lives, Rose! For once, everybody lives!" the Doctor happily exclaimed.

"What about Jack?" Rose Asked.

Jack, a mere conman who had put the future of mankind and his own life at risk by playing with fire, was somewhere, alone, trapped on board his own ship with a bomb ready to explode. The Doctor had already forgotten, ready to move on. But Rose was there, again, to awaken in him a heart too numb by time and events.

Saving Jack would be easy. Turn back and run away was tempting; this guy was clearly a source of trouble. The Doctor could feel it. This man blurred things, he was a liar and it was deep under his skin like a raison d'être. His Time Lord's instincts screamed at the Doctor to slip away and let the lost Temporal Agent to fend for himself. He could have lied to Rose, telling her Jack was long gone home; he had a vortex manipulator...

But he should have lied to Rose.

The Doctor knew he would regret it, deeply regret it, but he entered the coordinates with the secret hope that the Tardis would choose her own way and take them far from the Chula ship. She didn't. In fact, the Tardis made a strange humming before materializing just in time before the incredulous eyes of the Captain.

They saved Jack and invited him on board.

Jack had given up the bravado, he was clearly unsettled. The Doctor wondered if he had finally taken the measure of the consequences of his actions, or if the young lonely wolf simply didn't expect to be saved. Jack wasn't as easy to read as the Humans that Doctor was accustomed to go around with. He had a very strong psychological barrier.

They danced. They celebrated together the victory over death.

"So you're from the future?" Rose asked.

"Yes, fifty-first century." Jack replied without elaborating. He didn't want to lie, but the Doctor and his strange ship were making him feel uncomfortable. He found the man attractive in many respects, but he could also felt his hostility. He pretended to believe Rose was the only reason, but Jack had the feeling there was something else going way deeper, more visceral.

Rose decided to innocently ignore the hostility and the tension hanging in the air. It was still the best way to relax the atmosphere she could think of by forcing a light conversation between the two men to tame each other.

"And what does a Time Agent do, exactly?" she asked.

"In fact, we study history, the past, mainly." Jack replied. "Where I come from, a lot of historical knowledge has been lost or corrupted, but it's mainly about studying the way people were living and how civilisation evolved."

"And how would you do that?" Rose asked.

"We go back to a chosen point, place and time, and we share the locals' life for a while, blending in as much as we can. Just watching, listening and taking a lot of notes."

"So you're a sort of Indiana Jones?"

"Huh?"

"A sort of archaeologist, plus the adventure and more!"

"Uh, yes. You can see it like that."

"So you're saying you'd be an archaeologist? And why would the Time Agency erase one of their archaeologists?" the Doctor pointed out, knowing very well the Agency didn't form only archaeologists.

That was something Jack had often pondered about and it was clear he was not going to convince the Doctor just by telling him that. In fact a lot of things could have happen during those two years. It was more than just bothersome for Jack. He had run through a lot of possible scenarios of what could have happened. He couldn't find one he would be ready to deal with so he'd run away before finding himself trapped in some rehabilitation program.

"I have no idea." Jack replied. "What's that?" he asked, indicating the patties Rose had put before him.

"Mena petals stuffed with meat ctor, it comes from Vénusia 7," Rose replied with a sidelong glance at the Doctor.

Then they reached an agreement to mutually talk about gastronomy and cooking, a much less slippery subject. Once the adrenaline subsided, Rose was quickly being overtaken by fatigue. She tried not to show it, she didn't want to leave Jack alone with the Doctor. The hostility was so obvious she could have sworn she could actually feel it.

"Rose, you're no longer holding up, you should go to bed," the Doctor finally said. "I am sure our young friend, needs to rest, too. You should show him the guest room."

Jack didn't protest, he was glad to postpone the confrontation that would inevitably occur at some time or another. Anyway, he didn't intend to stick around, at the first opportunity, he would thank his hosts and disappear.

"It's nice, very spare, and Zen," Rose commented discovering his room with him.

"Am I the first guest to be allowed here?" Jack asked a little surprised.

"No, but the last time it wasn't like that. Good night, be a good boy," Rose said, leaving Jack puzzled in his room.

The room was as big as the cabin of the ship he'd just lost. On the way from the bridge to the kitchen, they walked through a large lounge and a library. Coming from the kitchen to the bedrooms, they had passed by a gym and a swimming pool! How big this ship could be?

The room was peaceful, reminding him of Boeshane and his parents' flat. It wasn't just the furniture, but also about the light and scents. He felt the bed, it was firm, just as he liked. What about those bed clothes? It looked familiar, but it couldn't be, it was as if the sheets were made of kholp *! He felt them with his fingertips, and examined the pattern more closely, and even sniffed. He wasn't delusional, it was kholp.

"She spoiled you. She likes you," the Doctor said.

He was standing in the doorway. Jack didn't hear him came in and was surprised. What was the Doctor talking about? Jack didn't have a clue. He was at a complete loss and feeling like a kid waiting to be reprimanded. He had long passed the age, but the Doctor intimidated him in a way that Jack couldn't explain. Jack just stood there, beside the bed, not daring to reply, or move.

The Doctor watched him curiously until returning his attention to the decor.

"Are you from a sea planet?" the Doctor asked, looking at the water wall separating the bedroom from the hygiene room.

"Yes. Why?"

"Funny. Most of the time she doesn't care that much about my passengers unless I ask her."

"What do you want me to say, or to do? What do you expect from me?" Jack asked, feeling tired and getting upset.

"I just wanted to see. Just trying to understand," the Doctor replied, casting a last glance at the room before setting his piercing eyes on Jack "Is everything okay?"

"Uh, yes," Jack replied like an intimidated kid.

"It's been a long time since anyone has reached out to you, right?"

Jack didn't know what to say. He felt stupid. He felt petty and ugly. Not physically, of course, but inside.

"Get some rest, you need it," the Doctor said and with that he was gone, leaving Jack with his questions.

The Doctor was puzzled, taken aback by the Tardis' reactions; Rose being sensitive to the Captain's pheromone-enhanced charm wasn't much of a surprise. As charming as she may be, Rose was only human. But his ship?

Continued ...

* Kholp: algae only grown on Boeshane for the textile making.


	2. Chapter 2

**Title:** A Matter of Trust

**Chapter 02**: Shameless

**Characters/pairings:** Nine/Jack/Rose

**Chapter Rating:** PG-13

**Spoilers/warnings:** none

**Disclaimer:** Still not making money out of this. Characters are still belonging to RTD and the BBC.

**Plot:** From the end of The Doctor Dance and Boomtown, Jack and the Doctor went from hostile suspicion to reliable friendship, how did this happen?

**Previous chapter summary:** The Doctor did rescue Jack, but isn't feeling very comfortable about his new passenger. Jack is a bit puzzled by pretty much everything and Rose tries her best to get them to know each other.

**Beta:** imzadimylove

...

Jack had slept like a log. It had been a while since last time he'd slept so well. He woke up still surprised to be there. The Tardis, the Doctor and even Rose didn't seem real, as if he'd fallen into a dreamland. Jack had seen a lot of thing in his not so short life. He may have looked to be in his late twenties or early thirties to Rose, when in fact he was already eighty or eighty-two, in fact he wasn't sure anymore. As a Second Generation Human his life expectancy was rather longer, and his ageing slower.

Over fifty years of travelling through time and space there was not much that could still impress him, however his hosts were really something out of your every day stuff. Starting with the Doctor; Rose said he was a Time Lord – Silly - What about an elf or a fairy? Okay he'd met fairy on Carpot that gave him the crap of if his life. He was definitely no more for fairytales.

And Rose? What about that twenty first century girl? What was she doing with this alien on this unbelievable ship? She was First Generation and couldn't be more than twenty, was she abducted? Was she the Doctor's mate? The Alien was clearly overprotective and almost possessive. As for her, she was undoubtedly under the Doctor's spell, but it didn't prevent her from flirting shamelessly with Jack. That would have been normal for someone coming from Jack's world, but not for a twenty first century girl like Rose. Was that a way to get to the Doctor, a way to tell him look at me I'm a women?

He stopped by the water wall, it was nice. How could the Doctor have guessed about him being from a sea planet? The Doctor was a strong telepath but so was he, and his mind was, as always, tightly locked; there was no way the Doctor had got that from him.

He went into the shower. It was water, not sonic as on his own ship. It felt fantastic. He missed the feeling of water on his skin. He didn't have much opportunity to enjoy showers while in London, the blitz wasn't the better period of history to have a long hot shower. He missed the ocean, missed plunging into salty water first thing in the morning, swimming as far and as deep as he could.

There was a swimming pool on board, a very appealing swimming pool. Everyone was probably still sleeping but he wasn't told not to wander on his own. And there was nothing wrong in having a little swim. He took a towel and walked to the pool. Gosh! It was salty water! Jack made a double salto out of sheer delight. The ocean was really his thing, and that's was one of the main reasons he'd chosen Ancient Mediterranean civilizations, because even though the Doctor didn't seem to believe him, he really was an archaeologist.

...

Rose woke up fresh and lively as always after a good night's sleep aboard the Tardis. She went to knock on the Captain's room door wanting to ask him to join her for breakfast. She expected him to feel a bit lost on his first day; the Tardis was still very impressive even though the Captain was not Mickey, and nothing like the few other passengers who had crossed their path since she had begun travelling with the Doctor.

The Captain wasn't in his room. Rose had even checked the bathroom. No Captain at all. Yet, she didn't sleep late. She resumed to head on her own to the kitchen. While she walked by the swimming pool, she heard a splashing noise and found the Captain. Jack, completely naked, was swimming in the pool in a very porpoises way. The view was beautiful and breathtaking. At each stroke, his perfectly round and firm buttocks emerged from the water, only to disappear immediately.

The pool was larger than it used to be. That was the kind of thing that never bothered Rose anymore. The Tardis wasn't static; it could change to please its passenger. She stopped by the edge to watch Jack swim. He was awesome, giving off such sense of powerful strength; she couldn't help but wonder what it would feel like to be in his arms, her naked body against his. Obviously, it was time for the Captain to acknowledge her presence as he couldn't wait until she regained her wits.

"Hi, feel like joining in?" he asked.

"Uh ... Actually, I was on my way to have breakfast," she answered a little too hastily.

"Great, I'm starving."

Before she had time to step back, he jumped out of the water in one leap. Good Lord; she got the full frontal, right under her nose.

"Hello," he said displaying a wide smile when he saw her embarrassment. "See anything you like?" he added with a mischievous grin while heading nonchalantly towards the towel waiting for him nearby.

He dried himself off, starting at his face not trying to hide anything as naturally as if she wasn't there watching. Because she was watching. She couldn't help but watch, bemused by the shameless display.

"Where are your clothes?" she suddenly asked not seeing anything looking like them anywhere nearby.

"Uh ... They would be in my room, why?"

"You just came like this?"

"Yes, why? Is there a problem?"

"You've never been arrested for indecent exposure during your stay on Earth?"

"Uh ... No, why?" he asked back, looking genuinely surprise by her concern.

"Forget it! Come on, we'll get you a change of clothes. You can't go on wearing that uniform anyway."

"If you say so."

Rose took him to the Tardis wardrobe. It was a room of its own or more some kind of outfits museum crowded with clothes from different times and places.

"Are you sure about this?" Jack asked completely taken aback by his surroundings.

Forgetting about the breakfast, Jack tried anything Rose would come up with, plus a few more just for the fun of it. They were having fun, playing like two big kids. He was her doll, a very compliant one, laughing and playful.

...

Wondering what was going on and a bit worried the Doctor showed up to find Jack wearing a lovely dark sheath dress and high heels showcasing his perfectly shaped long legs. The Doctor gasped taken aback as much at the effect the view had on him as by the view itself. Jack granted him an impishly wide smile.

"What are you two up to?" the Doctor asked, trying to regain some composure.

"Well, initially we were looking for something more appropriate for Jack to wear," Rose replied, perfectly aware of how silly it sounded with Jack showing off his ridiculously tight little dress.

"I doubt this would be appropriate to wear on Remona," the Doctor replied blankly.

"Nope but in the Vegas Galaxy, I sure would have a lot of success," Jack replied with a mischievous grin.

"Perhaps Captain, but that's not our destination."

"Remona, you said? I think I saw something that should do," Jack said, taking his shoes of.

"I'll be on the bridge," the Doctor said, slipping away as quickly as possible. Upon leaving the room, however, he looked back and got a glimpse of Jack striping out of his dress. The Doctor took a deep breath and darted away.

The Tardis was purring, Rose was playing dress-up doll using the Captain as her doll and for just a sec he'd felt the urge to throw the Captain onto the pile of clothes discarded around him and take him right away. That wasn't like him, and he couldn't even blame it on the Kr'ttt pheromones; Time Lords were supposed to be immune.

However, this so-called Captain was not bound to stay long. The good thing was he wouldn't even need to push him towards the exit; the Captain would disappear on his own at the first opportunity. Jack was an opportunist, the kind of guy who loves money and a merry and easy-life, unable to get involved or interested in others. Rose would soon realize it.

Yet a little voice reminded him that this guy, as petty and selfish or carefree as he looked, had risked his life, thwarted a bomb with Rose's and his name printed on it. Right, it was still Jack's fault to begin with, if he and Rose had been in the crosshairs of this bomb. Of course, Jack could very well have left and abandoned them to their fate, but in this case, humanity would have perished with them long before his birth, and the time traveller Jack was, knew very well what it would have meant for him.

Right Jack didn't find much favour in the Time Lord's mind, and it was not the way his incredible legs and his nice little arse had awakened a part of his body the Doctor had nearly forget about that was bound to make it better.

To be continued.


	3. Chapter 3

**Title:** A Matter of Trust

**Chapter 03**: First Stop

**Characters/pairings:** Nine/Jack/Rose

**Chapter Rating:** PG-13

**Spoilers/warnings:** none

**Disclaimer:** Still not making money out of this. Characters are still belonging to RTD and the BBC.

**Plot:** From the end of The Doctor Dance and Boomtown, Jack and the Doctor went from hostile suspicion to reliable friendship, how did this happen?

**Previous chapters' summary:** The Doctor did rescue Jack, but really doesn't like the way Rose and even the Tardis react to the newcomer, and more than all he doesn't like the way Jack _disturb_ him.

**Beta:** imzadimylove

...

Jack was fully aware of the effect he had on others. It's been a long time since he had learned to turn to his advantage the Kr'ttt pheromones grip. Sex was a weapon, a cheap bargaining chip he could use unashamedly. And love doing so.

If, as a teenager his Kr'ttt legacy had been hard to deal with, now he assumed it fully and played all-out at being the tempting snake. Rose was all excited about him, and wasn't shy at all; she would be easy prey. But she clearly was the Doctor's girl.

What about the Doctor? Jack didn't miss the awkward moment of hesitation the Doctor had when the alien walked into the wardrobe. The Doctor had been clearly disturbed, as if he'd been surprised by his own lust. Oh, yes, because that was really lust Jack had seen in these large blue eyes. A wild desire, a primal one, Jack had felt it deep within his being, as if the Doctor had possessed him right there, physically. Wow! All this in just a glance! Jack's legs were almost weak with anticipation.

He chose clothes more appropriate for his gender and put them on.

"I'll join you in the kitchen, I need to go back to my room first," he told Rose without further explanation.

There, he took back his vortex manipulator and set it around his ankle. After the Doctor confiscated his square blaster back in London, Jack had make sure the alien wouldn't know about the small time travelling device, let him believe he only had the more powerful one adapted from the Chula ship engine.

His wristband device was out of order for quite some time, at least the teleport and vortex manipulator itself but most of the accessory settings were still working. It still was his only possession and as long as he could keep it he could hope to repair it and if Remona was to be more than just a stop for him in the Doctor's mind, he preferred to have it with him.

He went to retrieve Rose in the kitchen, there he quickly have a glass of juice and grabbed a piece of Kafan before they headed to join the Doctor on the bridge.

The Tardis materialized near a small town. After walking out, Jack couldn't help but circle around the ship. He had always been madly fond of ships. They almost affected him as a pretty girl would. This one was really amazing and in more than one aspect.

The Doctor and Rose were waiting, arms crossed, watching with amusement.

"I really do love the wooden panel. Very vintage."

The Doctor nodded appraisingly.

"Aren't you going to say it?" Rose let out of frustration.

"What?"

"That's it bigger on the inside, of course."

"Right, I had noticed," Jack replied. "That makes it easy to park. Is there a perception filter?" he added turning to the Doctor.

"Yes," the Doctor answered watching for Jack's reaction.

"You really are a Time Lord?" It wasn't really a question. Jack was just truly flabbergasted; when he was a kid back on Boeshane, Time Lords were the stuff of legend. Back at the Time Agency, Time Lords were just mere bogeymen said to appear out of nowhere to clean up careless time travellers' messes. They were said to _clean_ any time agent altogether because of the mess the agent's caused. But of course that was just tales for newbie's benefits.

"The last one."

"Okay," Jack replied puzzled.

"Is that all?" Rose asked a bit disappointed by Jack's lack of reaction.

...

Remona was a small agrarian colony. Jack had absolutely no idea what they were doing there. The Doctor and Rose walked ahead together, while Jack felt like a puppy stuck to their heels. They strolled like this, aimlessly for hours, just like tourists. They tasted local delicacies, Rose bough two or three souvenirs under the Doctor's paternal gaze.

Jack was content with making sure not to lose sight of them among the crowd, while being as unobtrusive as he could. The Doctor was always watching him from the corner of his eye, Jack just knew it. He felt like the Time Lord was waiting for any excuse to leave him here. And frankly, Jack didn't feel like settling here. At last, they headed back toward the Tardis.

"For once, hell didn't break loose," Rose stated. "It makes a change."

"Perhaps," the Doctor replied carelessly. "What do you say, Captain?"

"About what?"Jack asked, expecting to be denied access to the ship.

"I presume you're not interested in settling as a farmer, aren't you?"

"I'm not much for drugs," Jack replied bitterly.

"Ooh! So you did notice?"

"Notice what?" Rose asked.

The Doctor didn't reply, leaving it to Jack.

"These are maltac fields; this one is still in its grass stage, but the one next door was harvested very recently."

"You are able to identify budding maltac, Captain?" the Doctor asked suspiciously.

"As you did, I noticed the peasants red fingertips while we were shopping through the village. Children's eyes are gaunt with the pollen spreading into the atmosphere all around them. In less than a generation the whole population will be overrun by the influence of that drug," Jack explained.

"Oh, but why? How did this happen?" Rose asked horrified by the prospect.

"It's a typical set-up. Intergalactic smugglers land, offering farmers to cultivate their seeds, promising them to redeem their harvest for gold. And they do as they said. In fact, it's not a too long-time investment and in the end they'll win it all. At first, everything looks fine, it's easy money. Farmers will upgrade their farms and tools, and then gradually get into the game wanting to make more profit. But gradually the pollen intoxicates them, they won't even notice it until it's already too late and became addicted. Of course this will lead them to grow more maltac reducing the place of other crops, and shortly they'll not only be addicted, but economically dependent as well. In addition, the maltac impoverishes the soil. In less than five generations these people will die of hunger."

"We must do something. We can't let that happen," Rose stated turning to the Doctor.

The Doctor was still watching Jack, as if he was expecting him to also answer that part.

"We can do something, right?" Rose asked once again expectantly.

"What do you thing we can do?" Jack replied completely distraught.

"I don't know. What about we set fire to these fields, for example?"

"That won't do any good, the smugglers would just punish the peasants for destroying what they consider to be their property," Jack explained, "No, it would need something discouraging those drugs dealers for good."

"Discouraging? Right," the Doctor said, with a very suspicious dark look, "And what would you propose as a deterrent?"

The Doctor was clearly challenging him, expecting him to come up with some stupid or short sighted solution, Jack suddenly felt like he was going through an oral at the Academy before the big boss himself. Not that the Man in White was ever involved to pass the exams. In fact, he was as much a legend to him as were Time Lords.

However, Jack wanted to pass, feeling ridiculously stupid and perfectly aware he wasn't likely to impress a Time Lord whatever he came up with, feeling like an eager puppy, wanting to please his master. Jack wasn't used to feeling that way, he was in fact more often at the other end of the equation.

Jack ran quickly over what he had noticed during their short tour, and went for a simple but most likely efficient response.

"Making sure the planet wouldn't be profitable, by making the drug inedible or too cheap for the trouble would be, I guess, the better way to permanently discourage the dealers."

"I like the sound of that," Rose said, "But how we do that?"

"By polluting it with phénigue; it's a fungus which can give very unpleasant effects, not deadly but very nasty."

"Are you seriously considering contaminating a planet with a particularly prolific parasite?" the Doctor asked dryly.

"Of course not. Okay with the Nanogens, I did really mess up, but it never was premeditated. I made a blunder and a big one, I grant you , but I'm not stupid enough to deliberately release a highly contaminant seed in an ecosystem," Jack replied a bit annoyed. "Phénigue naturally grow on cargo ships' racox tanks. The traffickers usually decontaminate tanks interior before every load, but they rarely clean the outside. "

"So you're saying we could contaminate the inside with the outside?" Rose said very happy with that solution. "You're sure this stuff is not dangerous?"

"Not lethal and whatever, less dangerous than the drug itself, but unpleasant enough to discourage drug addicts, at least for the major part."

"You seem to have really mastered the subject, Captain," the Doctor pointed out.

Jack didn't object about the subtext, he couldn't explain how he knew so much about maltac traffic. Probably one of the numerous things he'd learned during the two years he missed. It was rather curious that knowledge remained while his memories had, themselves, fully and finally evaporated.

"It shouldn't be very difficult for you to materialize on board the freighter with the Tardis and proceed with the drug contamination," Jack said, and before the Doctor, who had postponed ostensibly his attention on the maltac field said anything, Jack added: "It will be more difficult to permanently destroy what grow on those fields without causing collateral damage, I'll take this part."

To be continued.


	4. Chapter 4

**Title:** A Matter of Trust

**Chapter 04:** Dancing with a Blue Slug

**Characters/pairings:** Nine, Rose, Jack/Golup

**Chapter Rating:** PG-13- I don't think it's worth a NC-17

**Disclaimer:** Still not making money out of this. Characters are still belonging to RTD and the BBC.

**Plot:** From the end of The Doctor Dance and Boomtown, Jack and the Doctor went from hostile suspicion to reliable friendship, how did this happen?

**Previous chapters' summary:** Jack has surprised the Doctor with a simple but efficient solution to rid a planet of intergalactic drug traffickers, now it's time to make it work.

**Warnings**: none that I can think of, unless you have real body fluid aversion. (There's a slug involved)

**Beta:** imzadimylove

Jack had volunteered to destroy crops of maltac while the Doctor and Rose took care of the first harvested crop, already loaded aboard the traffickers' freighter that was still orbiting around Remona.

He'd watched the Tardis leaving with some apprehension. He was quick to pretend having no ties and not needing anyone since he'd ran off from home, shortly before he'd turned fifteen. Of course there was that old man who had taken him in off the street and took him under his protection. As long as Jack had been a time agent, he had made sure to come back to see him after each mission. In fact, to be true, he was a big sentimental refusing to admit it.

Destroying the maltac crops wouldn't be so complicated, but it would be demanding; it had to damage the irrigation system at least temporarily. The maltac was very sensitive to variations in water quantity. Jack with a bit of good will could even afford to do so to save other cultures from being ruined in the process. Jack had set to work very conscientiously. After that, he would go to rendezvous spot they had fixed.

He told the Doctor he would need about 10 hours. Everything was done within 8, but he got himself arrested while he was resting beside the river waiting for them. He was blamed for being inappropriately undressed. He tried to argue that taking a bath wearing clothes wasn't very appropriate, but the locals didn't seem to agree with his point of view.

The fact that he was a foreigner and he couldn't explain his presence in suitable terms had probably not helped. Initially, he considered his detention as a new episode, and faced it with nonchalance and good humour. Then the questions got punctuated by threats which turned into beatings. 

A good deed is always rewarded, as his cowhide Aunty used to say. You amaze me! Jack thought. As if Aunty had ever known about good deeds.

Eventually, the guards grew tired of whacking him. Probably because he'd fainted. They left him alone sitting on a chair, hands tied behind his back. They had him put his trousers back on, but the rest of his belongings, including his precious manipulator, were spread out on an adjacent table. For now his pocket knife would probably be more useful if he could manage to get to it.

Before Jack ever had time to try crossing the room on his chair, the door popped open. A huge Bratag entered.

"I bet you're not a local either..." Jack couldn't help but joke.

The huge blue slug was certainly one of the traffickers.

"What are you doing here yourself? How did you get here?" the Bratag barked without preamble, catching Jack by the throat, almost dislocating his head from his spine.

"Eeht wshoud beee sier fsho me to anshwer e you pshout me dowwn," Jack managed to stammer.

Surprisingly the guy seemed to understand and put him down on his feet. He was however still strongly gripping Jack's throat in his huge paw. He examined him from every angle. There were probably not many Humans hanging around here.

"You smell funny."

_Why doesn't that surprise me?_ Jack thought, here we are. There was really not that many species who could resist Kr'ttts pheromones.

"I bet you like it," he replied with a naughty smile.

Needless to try for subtlety, the seven feet tall slug was unlikely to discern the difference between a tempting smile from a disgusted grimace on a human face. Not that slug disgusted Jack. Nope, he had known some charming ones very slobbery of course. That said; it had the advantage of resolving any lubrication issues.

Jack opted for a direct attack and showed him his tongue, sticking it out as far as he could. Although he knew perfectly well he was obviously no match for his moist partner's.

Surprised, the Bratag dropped Jack, taking a step back so as to gauge him. If the Bratag had little chance to read Jack's expressions, the other way around wasn't true. Jack could tell the slug liked what he was offering.

Freed from his chair, Jack now had enough slack to work hard and discretely at undoing his bonds. He had to save time, and anyway he couldn't expect to win his jailer over with brute strength alone. Once again Jack showed him his tongue, waving it in all directions.

"You're a pretty little whore," the Bratag happily laughed. "But that won't help you with this present business. When I'm done with you, I'll give you to my crew to play with."

"That's pretty tempting," Jack replied with a smirk, "But wouldn't you prefer to keep me all to yourself?". Better to be cautious, if he couldn't get out of this mess to get back in time to the Tardis, he preferred to only have to deal with the freighter's captain than the entire crew. He would be more likely to reach the next port alive.

Jack was already late and he wasn't sure the Doctor would be inclined to wait very long for him at the rendezvous.

Jack was rewarded with a big slobbery lick. It was a bit sticky, but at least he didn't smell bad. Jack had managed to free himself but rather than trying to take this opportunity to push the slug away, he grabbed him and dragged him in.

"But, you really do like me," the creature said, taken aback by Jack's move. He slipped one of his big paws in Jack's trousers and under his pants patting the firm buttocks while licking with great delight the pheromones covering Jack's skin.

"Blue is my favourite colour," Jack replied playfully, rubbing his partner's erogenous zones with as much strength he could.

"Oh yes, you're good," The Bratag said salivating more and more. Jack was getting more and more slimy. The slug was rubbing frantically against Jack forgetting his purpose in being there. Jack let him play a moment, long enough for the Bratag to find his release.

Of course, Jack could have shoved a well placed knee into a strategic location, but as he had no guarantee of being able to run away from his new friend, he preferred not to upset him more than necessary. So as not to lose any opportunity to have fun and make things right, Jack guided the Bratag's paw where he wanted it to be. The slug had thick slick fingers, nice and filthy.

"Wow!" Jack commented withdrawing.

"You still have to tell me what you're doing here and how did you come," the slug spitted re arranging himself.

"It's a shame; I don't even know your name," Jack replied flirtatiously, putting his trousers back on, and heading quietly toward the table.

"Hey! Where you think you're going, like that?"

"You know I didn't have any weapon; I just want to get dressed."

"I'm Golup and you are?"

"Pretty name, Oh and don't seek for _your_ weapon. I got it," Jack warned ordering him to stay away. He recovered his manipulator along with his knife and stuck them into his pocket. Then while wiping the slime roughly off of his chest with his T-shirt, he gestured Golup to step away from the door access.

"You must excuse me, but I'm expected."

"You won't get far."

"We'll see about that," Jack said locking the imprudent slug into the room behind him as he left.

Jack didn't have much trouble sneaking out of the improvised prison. Night had fallen, and walking through the village didn't prove to be a problem either. However, he was well overdue and wondered if going back to the rendezvous site was still useful. A knot formed in his throat. He didn't want to admit it. To mislead his anguish, he decided to take the time to check that the farmers hadn't yet discovered his sabotage.

"Nice work."

"You're still here?"

"You look surprised?"

"Well, I am a bit late."

"Jack, oh Lord! But what happened to you?" Rose shouted running towards him.

"I was delayed by a lovely slug."

"You're all ... Slimy."

"That's what you're exposing yourself to when dancing with slugs," the Doctor said.

"Oh, you wouldn't...?"

"I think I'd like to take a shower. May I?" Jack grinned.

"Permission to board granted, Captain."

To be continued...


	5. Chapter 5

**Title:** A Matter of Trust

**Chapter 05**: Fantasies

**Characters/pairings:** Nine/Jack/Rose

**Chapter Rating:** NC-17 for hot dreams.

**Spoilers/warnings:** none that I can think of.

**Disclaimer:** Still not making money out of this. Characters are still belonging to RTD and the BBC.

**Plot:** From the end of The Doctor Dance and Boomtown, Jack and the Doctor went from hostile suspicion to reliable friendship, how did this happen?

**Previous chapters' summary:** The Doctor did rescue Jack, but really doesn't like the way Rose and even the Tardis react to the newcomer, and more than all he doesn't like the way Jack _disturb_ him.

**Beta:** imzadimylove

What was Jack doing in his library dressed that way, especially since Rose had gone to bed?

"What are you doing up there, Captain?" the Doctor asked the man perched up on the stepladder.

"Looking for a book," the Captain replied with a grin.

"Okay, that explains what you're doing perched on the stool but not why in heels," the Doctor stated not trying to hide his annoyance.

"You're not going to pretend you don't enjoy the view," Jack joked.

This arrogant little ape was starting to get on his nerves, and the black little dress he was wearing wasn't helping the Time Lord to cool down.

"Hurry down, Captain!"

"Right away, Doc."

He slipped down the ladder, the ridiculously short dress hustling midway up his buttocks. Buttocks that were not only naked but of a virginal white befitting their owner, round and gorgeous.

"Oops!" the false ingénue dared to coo mischievously.

That's when the Doctor lost track of the events' chronological order. However, in the end, the Captain found himself on his nice little arse in the middle of a pile of books. He didn't even slightly protest, by the way. As he didn't protest either when with an unusual brutality the Doctor took him without any preamble. The intergalactic little whore did gasp but was trembling with desire as he urged the Doctor to sink even deeper into his narrow sheath. It had been savage, nearly primal, and turned almost immediately into a cataclysmic ecstasy. The Captains' climax replying in a distant echo.

In the background the Tardis was purring.

Absolutely disconcerted the Doctor opened his eyes. He was sitting in his favourite arm chair in the middle of the library. He was alone and the book he'd been reading was still in his hand. He'd dozed briefly. The Time Lord didn't sleep, at least not like Humans. But that didn't mean he doesn't need to take some rest once in a while. And in those moments, sometimes his mind wanders...

"Damn Captain!" the Doctor grouched.

The Tardis replied with a murmur.

"I'm going to drop that man off at the first opportunity, you can be sure of that," he grumbled walking to his own room to have a shower.

...

Jack woke up from a very strange dream. Very intense. Trying to recover his senses and his breath, stunned he looked at his belly smeared with his own seed. Shucks! A little groggy, Jack got up on wobbly legs. Intense was a poor description for the experience. He could still felt it in the pit of his stomach, it had seemed so real - the sex part- not the part where he played a heeled noodle at the top of a ladder in the library. He certainly wouldn't be averse to taking that step if the Doctor offered!

Legs still shaky Jack walked into the bathroom to take a shower. It felt so real he was questioning whether it was just a dream. Carefully, he let his fingers wander just to make sure... Nope! No evidence of sexual activity, at least not since the Bratag's pudgy fingers.

He enjoyed a long shower replaying the dream in his head. Then he returned to collapse in his bed. He was as if he had participated in an orgy in which he'd sampled all the guests. He slept like a log and he slept late.

...

Rose woke up after a very disturbing dream. To begin with; she was a little mouse and she was wandering around on the library shelves. This was already weird, but what the little mouse had witnessed was even more unlikely.

Jack and his tall tales may have got under her skin.

She'd better keep this to herself; the Doctor would probably be shocked and Jack would have a lot of fun over it.

...

"How about Castor 4, Captain?" the Doctor asked as he entered into the room.

Jack and Rose were having breakfast in the kitchen, and for the first time Jack had been the one cooking.

"Well, I don't know where to begin," Jack replied cautiously. His first guess was that the Doctor wanted to get rid of him. If so, Castor 4 was a place full of opportunities for someone like him. But of course it was still a matter of _when _even more than a matter of _where_.

"What is it about Castor 4?" Rose asked innocently.

"A lot of things, it's a great intergalactic exchange centre at the extreme fringe of the Garp Constellation. The kind of place where adventure flourished at every corner," the Doctor replied.

"That sounds exciting!" Rose said.

Jack smiled but didn't comment. If the Doctor wanted to drop him, he was making him a favour by choosing Castor 4. But it might also be a new test. Or maybe the Time Lord only wanted to leave him the opportunity to leave them if he wished. However, Jack was under the impression that the Doctor would do nothing to stop him.

The worst part was that he wasn't sure about what he would like. He liked it here; on board this ship and with them even if he couldn't get rid of the feeling that he wasn't welcome as if he needed to prove himself.

He was feeling quite confused. Drink, eat, enjoy and live another day had been his only concern since he'd left the Agency. So much simpler. And then he'd run into these two...

"You must have got something wrong, Doc..." Jack finally said as they were wandering through a somewhat familiar ancient city.

The Tardis had materialised sometime earlier in a narrow street and as usual the Doctor had taken the lead, Rose grabbing his hand and Jack following quietly behind, peering all around without forgetting to keep an eye on his two companions.

"Took you some time," the Doctor stated. "And to answer your question, I didn't have anything wrong, that's just the Tardis playing tricks."

"The Tardis?"

"Yeah! She does that sometimes," Rose replied. "Unless, it's a cheap excuse for not admitting he's got it wrong." she bantered gently.

The Doctor gave her a fake outraged grin then returned his focus to Jack.

"Have you any idea where we are, Captain?" he asked. If Jack was an archaeologist as he pretended, just by looking around him, it would be easy for him to at least make a guess.

"Ancient Greece, without a doubt," Jack said and as the street in which they were standing was a potters' street, he added, "I'd say, about 3 centuries before Christ, somewhere in Cilicia."

"Pretty good, but I guess your vortex manipulator would be more precise?"

"If it was still working."

"Sorry," the Doctor replied kindly

"I've wandered around with Pausanias; I believe the hill you see over there to be Mont Lycos," Jack explained quietly, as if he hadn't noticed the Doctor's concern.

"Pausanias, really?"

"Yes, Pausanias," Jack confirmed. "Of course, it was later, a lot later. I did travel a lot with him. It was one of my first expeditions, and probably the most fabulous one," he added with a growing knock constricting his throat. The hell with the Doctor's suspicions, Jack's souvenir from the few months he'd spend with the ancient traveller were so deeply buried in his mind that he'd nearly forgotten about them.

While the Doctor was telling Rose about Pausanias the Perieges, geographer and great traveller of the second century, Jack was content to let those happy memories come back to him.

They spent the afternoon wandering and talking about Ancient history. Nothing happened, nothing to disturb their quiet wandering.

"So you say it deflected our course?" Jack asked as they came back to the Tardis.

"She," Rose corrected.

"Really?"

"The funny thing is that usually there is a good reason for her to do so," the Doctor commented.

"Oh I see…" Jack grinned.

"No, really. He refers to her as a person, talking to her…" Rose tried to explain. "But if I take into account the way she arranged my room or yours-"

Rose had stopped mid sentence because Jack was glaring had the Doctor as if he caught him doing some mischief, and the Doctor was trying hard to ignore him.

"What? What did I say?"

"Where I come from we have clever computers and even clever tools…"

"Don't even dare compare the Tardis with your so called clever thingy," the Doctor exclaimed. "She could very well take it badly," he added, opening the ship's door.

Jack was the last one to step in, as he did he opened his mind without lowering his mental walls. Since the beginning he'd felt like somebody was trying to get in, he'd suspected the Doctor…

"She's singing!"

"Of course she is. It's her way of saying hello, I'm glad you're back, and so on," the Doctor grunted.

She was singing since Jack was with them, not that she hadn't sung before. In fact she used to sing a lot and she still sang once in a while, but not like this. She hadn't sung like this for a very long time. What the hell was it about the Captain turning girls' head upside down? Even hers?

To be continued.


	6. Chapter 6

**Title:** A Matter of Trust

**Chapter 06:** Tashee, Daughter of the Time Vortex.

**Fandom:** Doctor Who

**Characters/pairings:** Nine, Jack, Rose and Tashee

**Chapter Rating:** PG-13

**Spoilers/warnings:** The zero room described in this chapter is from the Eighth Doctor movie. As are some events mentioned.

**Disclaimer:** Still not making money out of this. Characters are still belonging to RTD and the BBC.

**Plot:** From the end of The Doctor Dance and Boomtown, Jack and the Doctor went from hostile suspicion to reliable friendship, how did this happen?

**Previous chapters' summary:** with the Tardis' help, Jack finally managed to prove the Doctor he'd be an archaeologist.

**Beta**: imzadimylove

...

The Tardis was purring, again. What the hell was it with the ship purring like that ever since the Captain arrived on board? Normally the Tardis would just murmur, humming quietly like background music, lost amid the perpetual hum of the machine itself. Because the machine itself is an amazing ship built by his lost kind and there was Tashee the entity inhabiting it. Tashee, his wonderful and amazing Tashee.

Tashee was purring. Tashee was singing again, she hadn't sung like that since- since Suzan, his granddaughter, had left. A longing for the refreshing innocence of the child overwhelmed him. Yes he missed her, missed her so much, but yet, with a deep resigned sight, he quickly stowed the painful memory back into place, well buried in the deeps of his mind.

He'd rather focus on the now: Rose was sleeping in her room, but where was the Captain?

In the zero room, Tashee let him know. What the hell the Captain was doing there? And how could havehe managed that? How could have he get into a room only_ he_ had access to? Since the Master's intrusion back in 1999 on New Year's Eve, he and Tashee had made sure of it.

A shiver of fear ran through the Doctor: Could the Captain be the Master? Jack was Human but Time Lords had ways to change their own biology when they wanted to hide themselves away. Of course, there was a price to pay, and Jack could be the Master and not even know it. That would explain why a mere archaeologist had such strong mind shields.

The Doctor hurried toward the depths of his ship and the room hiding his ship's soul. He found the chapel's high and heavy gate wide open. Jack was there, propped up against one of the four pillars standing at each corner of the place where the eye of harmony was inserted in the floor. His head was thrown back, eyes closed as he was lost in listening to her song.

"What are you doing here?" the Doctor asked hastily.

Jack opened his eyes quietly, not even pretending to be surprised by the Doctor's intrusion.

"Back in the Time Agency, the main frame unit was inhabited, you know-"

"Nothing to compare," the Doctor snapped. "You shouldn't be there, Captain. I don't know how you managed to get in-"

"The doors were open," Jack replied looking surprised by the Doctor's unguarded hostility. He got up and gave the wide gothic chapel a last look over.

"Nice cell," he commented. "But still a cell."

The Captain's mind was still locked tight in a surprising way, but it didn't seem to prevent him from being able to hear Tashee, at least on some level. How could a Human do that? It was simply unbelievable, the idea of a mere Human understanding her or even grasp anything about her was even more unconceivable...Referring to the room as a cell was nothing more than a revelation of his limits The Doctor didn't even bother to deal with the issue.

"Now I understand what you meant when you made fun of our _clever tools_ or even our inhabited computers," Jack said as if he was still trying to figure what the song was about. "As clever as they are, it's still artificial intelligence built by men. But _this_ is nothing like that, right?"

"It's a kind of partnership," the Doctor felt compelled to reply.

"Partnership, that's it? Really?" Jack asked sarcastically.

"What are you doing here, Jack?" the Doctor asked slightly annoyed by Jack's insinuation. "What are you looking for?"

"She's amazing," the Captain reply as if that was the most obvious explanation. "Absolutely amazing."

"You shouldn't be here, Captain," the Doctor said quietly, finally deciding that Jack meant no harm.

Jack gave him a surprised glance, shrugged sadly, then just walked out hands fetch deep in his trousers pockets like a dismissed kid.

The Doctor gave the place a quick check over glance: everything seemed to be okay, and then he followed Jack, closing the high gate behind him.

"This ship is really incredible," Jack stated. "You are both incredible."

"You're doing just fine, Captain," the Time Lord replied.

"I'm just a mere archaeologist on the break," Jack laughed.

"And a hell of a conman," the Doctor added.

"Let's just say I manage," Jack conceded. "What's the matter Doc? I mean why are you keeping me on board if I'm so annoying?"

That was indeed a good question, one the Doctor wasn't sure he could answer honestly. Not that he was afraid of being rude, but because he hadn't the slightest idea. At the very beginning, it had only been because of Rose, because she cared. At the time, he couldn't have imagined it lasting this long, just long enough for Rose to realize there wasn't anything interesting behind the pretty face. But the fact was that a real camaraderie was building between the two Humans under his very nose.

But Tashee was showing a disconcerting affinity toward the Captain, that wasn't something he'd anticipated because that really wasn't something he _could have_ expected. And more than anything else it wasn't something he was ready to admit out loud.

"Why the Agency did erase two years of your life?" he asked as a diversion.

"I don't know. Never got to know."

"If I'm right, and I usually am, from where you come from, erasure is forced upon someone convicted of a crime before going into a rehabilitation program."

"Perhaps, except I wasn't given an explanation of any kind."

"Funny, I'd been told that the first rule in that system was to make sure the convicted know what crime he'd been convicted of,, to make sure he would _accept_ the rehabilitation program to make it more effective. Left him no memory of it, just the knowledge."

"Yep, I know and understand the scheme, but I was never judged or convicted, just ret-conned. And to be truthful I ran away before being taken to rehab."

"Two years, why two years?" the Doctor asked. "That's quite a lot of time."

"Haven't the slightest idea," Jack replied, getting annoyed. "And I'm not sure I still want to know," he admitted.

The confession cooled the Time Lord's annoyance; Jack was indeed a master in the art of seduction. The problem was, with his mind locked up as it was, the Doctor couldn't tell if Jack was sincere. The Doctor wasn't used to piloting blindly in such matters, not that he was getting in people minds on a regular basis, but because usually he had to fight to not be overwhelmed by people's mind leaks. There was absolutely no leak in Jack's mind and that was very unusual.

"You should go to bed now, Jack," the Doctor said gently. "Get some rest."

"Yeah, you're right," Jack replied. "You want to come with me?" he added with a funny mixture of cheekiness and innocence.

"Are you afraid you'll get lost, Captain?" the Doctor answered with a dark but amused frown.

"I would love to lose myself in your arms, Doctor."

"Go to bed Jack, and get some sleep."

There was something incredibly sensual about this young man, and it had nothing to do with pheromones. The man was a sex trap on legs; he knew it and was playing with it. A bit too easily, the Doctor realised.

"Jack, you might have noticed by now that I'm immune to your pheromones, right?"

Jack pondered dubiously then pouted sadly.

"But I bet those pheromones of yours bring even more problems than good opportunities upon yourself, am I right?"

"As with anything, Doc there is always a bad side for the good side. I learned to deal with it long ago." Jack replied. "Good night, Doc."

The Kr'ttts were predators, but Jack was only a Human with a very little of their genes. He was probably born from some slave progeny. In Jack's time the insectoid race would be long extinct, these pheromones being their last heritage spread upon the descendants of their victims. Jack was playing with them, using them and Rose was certainly a bit mixed up with them but Jack was clearly not trying to take advantage.

The Doctor had to admit, he had noticed Jack was pointedly not getting in one's personal space, even withdrawing when someone got too close, doing it with humour and a lot of shameless flirting, to hide it.

As he'd said Jack had learned to live with his difference. He'd even learned to use what could have been a spell as a weapon. Who could blame him for not wanting to be a victim? He wasn't a predator, although he could easily become one. Kr'ttts once nearly enslaved Human kind and a lot more other species only with the strength of their powerful pheromones.

But that still didn't making Jack a predator.

And Tashee did not give a damn about just anyone, but she clearly had a thing for that damned little ape. It might mean something; he might be more than meets the eyes even to a Time Lord.

The Doctor released a deep sigh; he'd rather give that annoying pretty face some more time.

To be continued.


	7. Chapter 7

**Title:** A Matter of Trust

**Chapter 07:** Children of Acaba

**Characters/pairings:** Nine/Jack/Rose

**Chapter Rating:** PG-13

**Spoilers/warnings:** none that I can think of but the three next chapters will have an incidence in the _A Matter of Trust_ part of _Archives season 2_.

**Disclaimer:** Still not making money out of this. Characters are still belonging to RTD and the BBC.

**Plot:** From the end of The Doctor Dance and Boomtown, Jack and the Doctor went from hostile suspicion to reliable friendship, how did this happen?

**Previous chapters' summary:** The Doctor seems on the way to change his mind about Jack, as the Tardis seems to be very interested in him.

**Beta:** imzadimylove

Once again the Tardis only did what she wanted. The Doctor had promised to take them to Acaba in the twenty-third century, when the planet was at the peak of its architectural splendour, but the Tardis took them to Acaba in the forty-third century, a time when there were only very few remnants of that architecture.

"Are you sure you actually know how to fly that thing?" Rose humoured the Doctor, "Or is Jack making you nervous?" she added, casting a sidelong glance at the handsome Captain.

The Doctor merely muttered something unintelligible under his breath. He couldn't bring himself to admit that what used to happen once in a while had become routine since Jack had joined them. There was always a parameter turning to be wrong, when it wasn't about the place it was the time when it wasn't both.

Acaba was a sprawling city occupying two-thirds of the small moon's surface.

"Originally it was a Kethan colony. The Kethans had had to leave their primal world and to scatter to nearby galaxies because of their aggressive neighbours – the kind that have a tendency to only want what belongs to others-. The Kethans preferred to avoid war." the Doctor started to explain ignoring Rose's banter.

"Are you saying these people are not humans?" Rose asked. Since travelling with the Doctor, Rose had met many exotic species, at least to her eyes, but these people seemed quite Human, in all cases as much as Jack.

"I would say half and half," Jack corrected, better able to distinguish Kethans from Humans. "The two species coexist and mingle in perfect harmony," he added. "Humans living here are refugees who had to leave their colony due to crappy terra-forming."

Rose gave Jack a puzzled look and the Doctor felt compelled to regain control.

"You need to remember that our young friend wasn't born on Earth because in his time, your planet will become temporarily uninhabitable, and so mankind will also have to conquer new horizons."

"When you say conquer?" Rose asked feeling pretty uneasy with the idea of human kind could reiterate centuries of barbarian conquests.

"Most of these conquests were quite peaceful, in fact," the Captain said. "And that explains the terra-forming issues. Colonies were mainly built on abandoned or dead worlds that had to be adapted to the need of our species. That's what is called terra-forming."

"What would be these issues?"

"Earth evacuation wasn't undertaken in the best conditions, as is usually the case when it comes to evacuation. Time was short, and some colonies were settled too early on planets that were only partially evaluated, and sometimes it even happened to be on worlds that weren't yet stabilized."

"I don't know why, but I get the feeling I won't like the answer if I ask for more details about this," Rose commented.

"Very likely," the Doctor conceded.

"So? Were you born on a colony like this one?" she asked Jack wishing to come back on a lighter subject.

The impressive modern city stretched out of sight in all directions. The straight avenues were only interrupted with mathematical regularity by perfectly perpendicular streets. The result was visually overwhelming and was only compensated by true architectural research and lovely squares dotted with green and red flowers making the sight a bit more human. No, this place was nothing like Boeshane.

"Try to imagine Bermuda with less blue and green and a lot more of gold and sand and just a small town rising on the edge of the ocean," Jack replied.

"Gold?" Rose asked out of surprise.

"The colour of the plankton gives our ocean a golden appearance in all seasons, and the sky is almost white..." Jack explained.

Jack's eyes reflected a deep nostalgia while speaking, and Rose wondered if making a trip to Jack's home world could be considered, but as she was about to ask the Doctor, she noticed his disappearance.

"And then, he will say that's me doing it," she said when it was clear the Doctor was nowhere to be seen; once again he was just gone.

"We'll find him," Jack said as much for him as for Rose. He took her hand in his, determined to not let go. He'd lost one; he wasn't going to lose the other

This somewhat possessive reaction surprised and amused Rose. She wasn't too worried; losing the Doctor had become quite a routine for her. "Something must have drawn his attention and poof..." she said.

"In that regard you're just alike," Jack retorted, as he'd spent most of their previous trips trying to always keep both of them in his vision field.

"What do you think?" she asked wondering which way to go.

The sudden disappearance of the Doctor forced Jack to reconsider his environment and sort out what his mind had registered; he might have missed something. . A civilized city, quiet and orderly. Far too quiet, too much order, few children, mostly very young and always very wisely holding the hand of an adult.

"This city is far too quiet for its size, don't' you think?" Rose asked, echoing his own thoughts.

"There are too few children," Jack said.

"And the few that we met were all well behaved. Besides, I don't know if it's just me imagining it, but I find all the people here a little too disciplined, don't you?" Rose continued.

"Yes, you could say that," Jack replied, a bit distracted as his mind was trying to sort out what was wrong. "That way," he finally said dragging her along.

"What? Did you see him? Where are we going?" she asked as they were heading toward what looked like some giant mall.

"Teenagers," Jack explained. "You can go across the whole intersidereal cosmos, and everywhere you go, there are always teenagers hanging out and messing around even under the worse dictatorships or in the most elevated civilizations."

"You seem to have made it into a universal law," Rose said bemused.

"It's hormonal," Jack summarized. "If you're looking for teens, go to the nearest mall." Rose laughed and Jack get on, "You know there're even planets where teenagers are banned from malls?"

"Now you're just making this up," she said.

"No, they're only allowed if in the company of an adult."

"And does it work?" Rose asked, still wondering if Jack was trying to make fun of her.

"Not that I'm aware," Jack conceded. "Did you ever try to forbid a kid to do something?"

"What I can say is that if the kid is named Mickey Smith, there is little chance it works right," Rose replied. "But to be honest, I should admit I wasn't any better. In your case, I don't even want to ask."

"They must be at school," Rose said as they had cross the mall hall without seeing more than a few teenagers

"No. Proportionately, there are too many children of school age out for that," Jack said watching a group of young people sitting in a corner. "The fact is; the few teenagers we met are either pure Kethans or half-bloods. There seems to be no pure strain Humans, there are too few children of pure Human strain in proportion to the adult population." He was still trying to make sense of all these clues.

"Maybe it's the result of mixed marriages. You said, yourself, they seemed to mingle _harmoniously_," Rose suggested, despite all her efforts, she couldn't make a difference between the two species.

"No, that's not it; there are young children but no teens."

"I couldn't tell," Rose sighed.

Jack looked at her realizing she was at a complete loss.

"We haven't come across even one Human child older than 10, but there are younger children. And the two species have shared this colony for over 35 years."

"How do you know that?"

"We walked by a memorial; the blue pointy thing outside," Jack explained.

"Oh."

As they were wondering what to do next, an alarm rang out and a voice ordered employees and customers to leave the building in quiet, orderly fashion. Code 21 was repeating thru the speakers. All around them, people just stopped whatever they were doing and walked out in a very quiet order. It was just creepy.

"What's going on?" Rose asked. "What's a Code 21, do you know?"

"It can mean a lot of different things depending of the _where_ and the _when_," Jack replied.

Jack led Rose aside, he was quite determined to stay behind and see what was going on. This excessive discipline was making him feel really uneasy.

"The Doctor," Rose warned him as she spotted the Time Lord among the crow two stages below. But Jack seemed interested in somewhere else, he gestured her to wait for him, and rushed up the stairs to get to the upper floors.

Rose only paused for a sec, but it been enough for him to disappear from her sight. The last stragglers were now evacuating the ground floor and Rose spotted the Doctor's black leather jacket. Jack would eventually come back down but the Doctor had no way of knowing that they were both here, or that Jack was probably running right into trouble.

To be continued.


	8. Chapter 8

**Title:** A Matter of Trust

**Chapter 08:** The Lost Child

**Characters/pairings:** Nine/Jack/Rose

**Chapter Rating:** PG-13

**Spoilers/warnings:** children with suicide tendencies.

**Disclaimer:** Still not making money out of this. Characters are still belonging to RTD and the BBC.

**Plot:** From the end of The Doctor Dance and Boomtown, Jack and the Doctor went from hostile suspicion to reliable friendship, how did this happen?

**Previous chapters' summary:** Jack and Rose have lost the Doctor on Acaba where a whole part of the children are missing.

**Beta:** imzadimylove

...

The Doctor had immediately spotted the young woman from the corner of his eye. The young Human was clearly on the verge of panic amid the calm and disciplined crowd, attracting unwanted attention to herself. The Acaban's seemed resigned for some reason he couldn't make out, however it was clear that they were not behaving out of fear or coercion.

No, self-discipline was something these people were forcing upon themselves willingly, but why?

Of course, in this context, the young woman's panic could only draw the attention of other passersby. Some were content to just throw disapproving glances in passing, others stopped to watch what was going on but carefully keeping their distance.

Only three people ran towards her to help, two women and a man.

"He fled. He saw that I was in the kitchen and he ran away," the young mother kept repeating like a mantra.

"We need to tell authorities, Katia," the man tried to convince her. "And without waiting."

"Noooo," the woman protested disengaging from the man's grasp. "He can't have run very far."

"That's not wise, Katia," one of the woman intervened. "Tolio's right, we should call for help."

"No, no. They'll put him back in one of those cells, it's gone kill him," Katia whined.

"That's awful to even consider, but the truth is it's probably the best that can happen," an elderly woman standing by the Doctor stated to no one in particular. "What kind of life is it for those poor kids however?" she added after crossing the Doctor frowning gaze.

Right in the middle of the street the young woman was now completely loosing it and the neighbours insisting on the necessity to regain control was not exactly helping.

"What's going on here?" the Doctor asked holding his psychic paper in front of him to open a way into the crowd that had now formed around the mother.

"What was bound to happen," replied a well-intentioned neighbour.

"Could you be more specific?" the Doctor asked in a disapproval way.

"She was hiding their son for months; he was bound to run away," the neighbour replied without a flinch. "That's a classic; they all run away the end."

"He wouldn't want to go back. He wasn't eating anymore, he was killing himself," Katia argued.

"Have you any idea where he could have gone?" the Doctor asked the women.

"More likely at the mall," a woman in the crowd replied. "They all end up at the mall."

"Noooo!" the mother yelled trying to run away.

""What are you waiting for, to stop her?" the man told the Doctor reproachfully. "She's just a mess and that is just going to make things worse."

"And you are?" the Doctor asked.

"Her partner. Tolio is my son," the man replied trying desperately to keep calm.

"And your son is an empath," the Doctor conclude, finally putting together what all this was about. Empathic kids that couldn't bear to be around any others and especially Humans who couldn't block their emotions or control them. "Acaba, forty-third century, of course," he summarised.

...

At first, Jack had just registered the movement; someone had deliberately chosen not to follow the herd, attracting the Captain's attention. A child, a teen, eleven or twelve, not older. Human, and pure strain for what he could guess, the scan of his manipulator confirmed it as it confirmed how stressed the kid was.

The Captain was quick to reduce the distance, but he didn't try to catch up with the child. The young boy showed hesitation of a frightened animal and Jack didn't want to startle him. The Captain was moving silently and the kid hadn't registered his presence. Jack chose to follow him as discretely as the sudden desertification of the mall could allow him.

His instinct told Jack he shouldn't rely on his scan but to try and keep the boy in sight. The child didn't seem like he knew the building's layout better than the Captain, but was heading upward. On the fifth floor the kid did as he had on every level, hanging over the central handrail as if to look for a better view. Jack was just trying to stay out of the boy's view when the kid began to climb over the guardrail.

He was too far away and could only hold his breath and the shriek of horror that threatened to escape, but the kid didn't jump. The boy settled himself on the wrong side of the railing, his feet slightly outstripping the edge but he had wrapped his arms around the rail keeping him from falling.

Jack waited until his heart slowed down, evaluating his chances of intervening without provoking a fatal fall. The kid finally registered an adult presence, clearly surprised but still maintaining his grip on the metal bars.

"Err, hi," Jack tried hesitantly. "I get lost-" he said not much convinced himself.

The child didn't answer, but looked puzzled, watching Jack with a surprising intensity.

"Do I have something on my nose?" Jack joked stroking hard the tip of his nose.

Again the kid didn't reply or laugh, but kept starring awkwardly at the Captain.

Jack took the advantage to move closer, walking nonchalantly, hands stuffed deep in his pockets in order to not alarm the kid. However the boy was still out of immediate reach, watching him with a strange curiosity under the circumstances.

The sudden arrival of a lift with two guards in it nearly ended the whole thing, startling both the kid and the Captain.

"Stand back!" One of the guards immediately demanded Jack. "Back off immediately."

At first Jack meant to step back, but then changed his mind when the kid, who'd kept calm until then, looked terrified, ready to get out of reach of any adult that moved toward him. The boy began to inch his way toward the edge of the railing to where a ledge ran behind another elevator shaft. Now to get to him, they would have to crawl over the rail and follow him. No way anyone could stop him if he decided to jump.

"Don't do anything stupid," Jack told the boy while stepping deliberately between him and the guards. Both were Kethans, pure strain.

"You should never have tried to get near him," the big good-looking redhead one barked. "And what the hell are you still doing here?"

Instead of replying, Jack took out his psychic paper and held it up in front of the guards.

"You're a psychologist? What kind of psycho are you? Do you want him to jump?"

"We were doing just fine, just the two of us before you get in the way," Jack replied gesturing them to back off. "Isn't that right?" he asked the kid, who hadn't stopped starring at him.

It was clear the three adults couldn't stop the kid from jumping and that he wouldn't let them come to get him. And clearly, the only thing that was keeping him from actually doing it was the interest he had in the Captain, even if they couldn't understand what it was about.

"Why don't you tell me your name?" Jack asked.

"Stal," whispered the other guard, gesturing to Jack it was the kid's name.

"Stal?" Jack asked. "That's a nice name. I'm Jack, by the way."

"Of what species are you?" the child asked, to the three adults' ultimate surprise.

"I'm Human just like you."

"No," Stal replied. "No way you're anything like Human."

"Trust me, I can guarantee you that I am," Jack said glancing back at the two puzzled guards, while walking to lean against the handrail not far from the kid but not close enough to upset him.

"Jack," the Doctor's voice called him. He, a couple Jack assumed were the child's parents due to their anguished faces, and Rose had just walked out of another lift. "He's a level 4 empath," the Doctor told Jack before turning to the parents, "Jack is just the right man to handle this situation," he told them.

Jack was taken aback by the Time Lord's sudden trust but the Doctor had also given him the information he needed to understand what was really going on.

"I'm Human, Stal. I just learned how to hide my emotions behind a mind shield," he explained. "And if you want I could teach you how to protect yourself from others in the same way."

The kid pondered a while, trying to make up his mind about trusting a stranger. Jack gave him a reassuring smile and put out his hand in an inviting gesture.

"I could also teach your parents," he added.

The child's gaze focused on Jack's outstretched hand, then the floor down below him, then back to the hand and then on Jack. Very slowly he carefully moved toward him. Jack waited without flinching until the boy got within reach, and then he caught him and pulled him over the rail, grasping him by his arms and held him tight against his pounding heart.

Stal was still staring at the Captain, as if he couldn't believe he was in someone arms without being overwhelmed by their feelings. Jack kept him like this, close to him to give him time to relax into the warms of the embrace, and then as the kid felt more secured he softly wrapped him in a mind cuddling.

"You will teach me, Jack?" the kid asked. "You'll keep your promise, right?"

"Of course I will," Jack replied.

To be continued...


	9. Chapter 9

**Title:** A Matter of Trust

**Chapter 09:** Jack's Choice

**Characters/pairings:** Nine/Jack/Rose

**Chapter Rating:** PG-13

**Spoilers/warnings:** none that I can think of.

**Disclaimer:** Still not making money out of this. Characters are still belonging to RTD and the BBC.

**Plot:** From the end of The Doctor Dance and Boomtown, Jack and the Doctor went from hostile suspicion to reliable friendship, how did this happen?

**Previous chapters' summary:** Jack has managed to rescue Stal, and promise to teach him how to protect himself from others.

**Beta:** imzadimylove

Jack didn't want to let go of the child, partly because Stal had clung to him like he was a castaway's salvation. The Doctor had explained that the Captain had very strong mental shields not letting any emotion and even very little sensation pass. Jack was safely shielded; his proximity wasn't assaulting the child.

Thus, the Doctor and Rose were invited to visit the highly secured facility with Dr. Irys Beckal, while Jack was helping Stal settle back into his small room under the supervision of Tolio - Stal's father - and a nurse who was watching from outside through a glass wall.

"Whatever you can tell, this place looks like a jail to me," Rose commented.

"For their own security," the physician –a Takhan—replied. "All the children in this home, are level 4 or 5 empath. And whatever caution we take their life expectancy stays very short."

"If keeping them here doesn't solve their problem, why are you doing it?" Rose asked.

"Because for these children, being around others is an unending torture," the Doctor explained. "Level 4 empath, like Stal, can feel not only people but what most living beings are feeling 12 feet around them: whatever emotion and sensation."

"Is that why your people are behaving the way they are?" Rose asked.

"Yes, when we realised that most of the Humans had been more or less contaminated, we all worked together to face the situation," Irys said. "Our species is empathic, its part of us, our body and psyche are made to deal with that. Humans are not," she sighed. "So we put up a bunch of directives to ease everyone's life and save what we could."

"Is this what you call easing?" Rose argued. "Hiding children in little cells and turning their parents into zombies?" She couldn't help but being upset, even more so as the Doctor seemed to look at the whole thing like a tourist on tour.

"The whole population of our world, Humans and Kathans agreed to willingly force themselves to adhere to a strict discipline in order to ease the life of some of them: that's unprecedented," the Doctor commented, quite delighted. "Because, if I have it right, the contaminated Humans are not even a quarter of the population, right?"

"Right, but the empathic parents are contaminating their newborns."

"Of course, but their empathy won't be as serious, right? Because the kids held here will never become parents, and you have stopped the contamination source," the Doctor noted.

"But what happened? What sort of contamination are you talking about?" Rose asked completely puzzled.

"When we allowed Humans to settle on this planet they were refugees who had had to leave behind everything. We welcomed them and integrated them amongst our population. It went well, but it was a very hard economic and sociological effort for our communities. The health and care department wasn't the less affected, but asour species are compatible-"

"Compatible? What do you mean by compatible?" Rose asked.

"Two species are said to be compatible when they can mate and have children of their own without specific medical help at any stage of reproduction, conception, pregnancy or birth," Irys explained. "And of course only if the children born out of it, don't suffer from the mixing."

"Right, I guess that's probably not always the case," Rose stated, thinking about all the strange creatures she had met since travelling with the Doctor.

"Far from it," the Doctor confirmed.

"So what happened?" Rose asked as she seemed to be the only one not knowing the answer.

"Our species are really compatible; In fact they are even more compatible than Humans can be between themselves."

"I beg your pardon?"

"Humans have different blood types, with different rhesus making them mutually incompatible. Our species has only one blood type, and it's compatible with all Humans."

"So basically, this is the result of a blood contamination?"

"Yes," the Doctor replied clearly fascinated by the whole thing. "The generalization of blood transfusion from Kathan to Humans induced one of the major historical catastrophes of mankind."

"We noticed early on that transfused Humans were developing some level of one or two empathy, but most of the time it was only transient," Irys added. "But very soon, we realised that among the children, third level empathy was not uncommon, and quickly proved to be persistent."

"But it didn't stop you from using Kathan blood on Humans?"

"We quickly stopped interspecies transfusions for children, but the damage was already done. A major epidemic of Tachtoumla forced us to practice numerous transfusions on Humans. Nearly two-thirds of adults and adolescents had to be transfused, among them pregnant women and others who became pregnant before the effects of the transfusion dissipated."

"So these kids-"

"Are the unfortunate victims of this health catastrophe," the physician concluded. "Over six hundred children without a future."

"Six hundred?"

"548 children of level 4, 87 of level 5," Irys explained. "In all, thousands of children have been infected to varying degrees. Empathy is considered disabling from level 2. But even level 3 empath can have an almost normal life if in a protected environment."

"How can Jack help them?" Rose asked.

"I'm afraid Jack makes promises he cannot follow through on." the Doctor said.

"What do you mean?" Irys and Rose asked in unison.

"The techniques Jack uses to lock his mind had been developed through torture resistance training, not really an entertaining kind of thing to learn and far more coercive than the discipline that your people already put on themselves," the Doctor explained.

...

Jack had closed the door behind him as he left Stal after promising to come back as soon as he could. Tolio was waiting for him in the hall. Stal's mother. Katia, had not been allowed inside the facility because her stress would have been painful for the young patients, so she was told to go and have a session of psychotherapy relaxation at the annexe.

Tolio's emotional state was on the edge, and even if he was allowed inside the facility he was never to get near his son. He had followed the Kethan nurse and Jack but staying way behind and then he stayed on the other side of the glass, feeling useless while watching a complete stranger reassure and comfort his son like he and Katia could never do.

"How do you do that?" Tolio asked Jack with a hint of bitterness in his voice. "The guard back at the mall said nothing comes out from you as if you were made of stone."

"I can teach you that, if you want," Jack replied.

"That's what you told Stal, but how?"

"We should walk out, and speak of this outside and with your partner," Jack suggested. Tolio was already finding it difficult to control himself, and Jack could tell without being an empath.

They went to pick up Katia at the annex, and then settled at one of the picnic table of the park surrounding the facility.

"I'll never make it," Katie sighed. "Stal is my son. How can I become desensitized to his suffering?"

"This isn't about becoming unresponsive or to restrain your feelings in anyways, but to learn how to build around your mind a mental wall enabling you to keep your feelings and emotions from escaping," Jack explained. "Of course, this will take time, practice and perseverance."

"Captain, can I have a word with you?" the Doctor who had just arrived with Rose cut him short, pulled Jack away from the parent's hearing. "Stop making promises you can't keep."

"I'm willing to do it."

"Did you really take the time to think about it, Captain? Not only do these techniques come from the future, but they are highly coercive and even if this is a desperate situation, how do you propose to teach them to children?"

Jack frowned, involved in the now, he'd forgotten to ponder about the temporal factor of the situation.

"You're a Time Lord, you might be able to tell if something is or not fixed in time," Jack replied.

"Yes, I do," the Doctor noted. "And I'm sure you know what repercussions these events are going to have on the future."

"That's my point. It is from these events that have been developed psychic protection techniques," Jack said. "Although in this specific area, these people are in the Stone Age, comparatively."

"And you want to give it a push?" the Doctor ask. "But that would mean you would need to stay here, are you ready for that?"

Jack felt a knot forming in his throat. Acaba forty-third century wasn't a terminal; it was a port close to the interstellar sidereal new roads of a world still under construction. But it would take several months for Jack to give these people the basics that would allow them to have a grip on their future. That meant putting an end to his adventures aboard the Tardis, because he wasn't expecting the Time Lord to wait for him. At least Jack wasn't going to get stuck here; he would be able to leave on his own to pursue other interests.

"I made a promise and will keep my word, unless you tell me my involvement in this would provoke a catastrophic temporal paradox," Jack stated.

The Doctor stared at his young passenger. As always, it was impossible for him to read the young man, but if Jack's mind was closed, his body language was much more expressive, Jack wasn't thrilled, but he was determined.

"Doctor?" Jack asked.

"How do you intend to proceed, Captain?"

"I think I should start with a small group of adults carefully selected according to their predispositions and their motivations, so they can train others. Meanwhile, teach the children to protect themselves through simple exercises and games."

"Games?" Rose asked. "What was that thing about torture, then?"

"Torture?" Jack asked somewhat startled. "Once again, Doc, I was an archaeologist, not one of those time cop maniacs," he said quickly. "But where I was born most Humans are telepathic."

To be continued


	10. Chapter 10

**Title:** A Matter of Trust

**Chapter 10:** Welcome Aboard

**Characters/pairings:** Nine/Jack/Rose

**Chapter Rating:** PG-13

**Spoilers/warnings:** none that I can think of.

**Disclaimer:** Still not making money out of this. Characters are still belonging to RTD and the BBC.

**Plot:** From the end of The Doctor Dance and Boomtown, Jack and the Doctor went from hostile suspicion to reliable friendship, how did this happen?

**Previous chapters' summary: **Jack had promised to teach the Children of Acaba how to protect themselves from others by rising mind shields. But of course that meant to stay on Acaba, and give up on travelling with the Tardis' crew.

**Author's note:** This is the End of this fic, however there is a sequel written for OT3 hurt/comfort challenge: The Missing Tardis.

**Beta:** imzadimylove

Jack didn't escort them back to the Tardis. He'd held firmly on his decision against the Time Lord. Of course, the Doctor could have lied and claimed Jack's interference would have a negative impact, but to be true if Jack could provoke a temporal paradox, this one was meant to be.

"I can't believe you didn't know Humans would in the future become telepathic and would have to use these techniques in everyday life," Rose said to the Doctor when alone with him back in the Tardis.

"Let's not generalise, Jack's coming from one of the most remote place of the Universe, on the other side of the Garp System borders. A wilderness area that was, or at least, will be settled by refugees from very different backgrounds for only a very few millennia before being abandoned again. Time Lords were never truly interested in investigating it."

"Oh, so you're saying that so far you have based your claim on A Priori?"

The Doctor was stunned; as if his eyes had just discovered the tip of his nose. Was it Rose's choice of words or the charge? He couldn't tell.

"So, in the end, what do you know for sure about that Time Agency of his?"

That was a very good question and one he couldn't answer the way he would have liked. He didn't know much about the Time Agency, because of its activities; it was very difficult for Time Lords to focus on it. That sector of space was dangerous even for them to travel; way to much paradox potential.

"To begin with, what must be taken into account is the fact the Agency as well as all the sector around it is unstable over time."

"The sector Jack is coming from, right?"

"Right, it's a zone of temporal turbulences, and the Agency is certainly the source of these disturbances."

"And this certainty would be based on what exactly?" Rose asked, suspecting that certainty lacked foundation.

"During several centuries the Agency sent hundreds of agents lacking temporal consciousness through time," the Doctor tried to point out.

"Agents such as Jack?"

"Jack may be a good guy, but he lacks the means to measure the consequences of what he does."

"But you do, right?"

"I was born like that, I'm a Time Lord, and despite all his knowledge and good will, Jack is only a Human. By the way, even Jack agrees that Time Agents are no angels."

"So?"

"What?"

"So what will happen, then? What will be the result? Will it matter? Or is Jack just giving himself to a lost cause?" Rose was already missing him; Jack was fun, always in good mood.

The Doctor displayed one of his favourite grins. The fact was Jack's decision had surprise him. "Why?" The Doctor had asked him.

"Because I can, and also because, as far as I can see, I'm the only one available to do it, Doc."

"Doctor?" Rose called him out of his reverie. "What do we do now? Where do we go?"

"Let's have the Tardis chose our next stop," the Doctor suggested.

...

Jack woke up between Kardis and Tavlen, two nurses of sector four. It had been a short night after a busy day. Kardis quickly joined him in the shower, a little taller than Rose, she had long black hair hanging down to the bottom of her back, Tavlen on the other hand was a big redhead guy, all studded with gilded spots. In six months, Jack had managed to make a few new friends, but he was still missing the Doctor and Rose very much.

They had done a good job. Most of the kids were now able to develop a mental shield between them and others at least temporarily. They still would need much practice and training before they'd be able to maintain this protection. Some of them, the less affected and most talented, could hope to one day be able to enjoy an almost normal life. For the others, it would at least allow them to leave their permanent isolation once in a while.

Jack was able to form a full Human team of caregivers and stakeholders with these techniques in order to demonstrate it was doable. Some were telepaths who had no awareness of their gifts and the opportunities it offered. The time traveller he was, had indeed asked himself whether it was wise to teach them the rudiments of what would become a full technique for medical assistance, and then he remembered that no one was really sure of the actual origins of those techniques.

He also trained educators not only to take care of the children and teach them how to protect themselves, but also to train the parents and other educators. The process was begun, nothing would stop it. He wasn't needed anymore. And if he didn't want to get registered in the history of a time he didn't belong, it was more than time for him to leave. He resolved to take the next shuttle to Dagobah*, a large multispecies colony in full expansion process.

He'd packed his bags and prepared to leave discreetly by the back door. He hated goodbyes and preferred to flee like a coward to return to his life and adventure. He went to leave his keys with the Hospital concierge's when a big fuss attracted his attention: The Tardis was very discreetly materializing in the facility wide hall.

Jack froze on the spot, cold running down his spine, his heart, after a furtive dip in his shoes, was pumping so hard back in his chest that it threatened to explode. He must have provoked a new disaster; why else the Doctor would be there? On the other hand, he was really happy to see them. He felt the urge to run for his friends, but was stuck terrified by what their presence might imply.

"Captain," the Doctor greeted him. "Why am I not surprised?" he asked glancing back at Rose who was displaying a very happy smile. The Tardis had taken them directly back to Jack without the slightest detour.

"What's going on? Are you just here for a check or did something I do go wrong? What's the matter?" Jack asked miserably.

"It's up to you to tell me, Jack," the Doctor said disapprovingly. But seeing Jack's sad puppy eyes he took pity on him. "What if you take us on the grand tour?"

Jack obeyed, leading them through the facility and despite the knot of apprehension gripping his stomach, he couldn't help but feel pride for what he'd done with the staff and children. His entire life he'd never had undertaken something as important to him.

Aside from asking about some technical issues the Doctor was surprisingly quiet during the visit, to the point that even Rose began to feel the tension. What made it worse was that Jack had done a fabulous job.

"Fantastic," the Doctor finally commented to Jack's and Rose's relief. "Absolutely fantastic."

"Seriously?" the Captain asked like a child wondering if he'd already passed the test or if the teacher was still testing him.

"Completely and deadly serious, Captain, you've done a great job."

Rose felt so relieved she threw herself at both men to hug them. "Great, really great," she kept on saying. "Fantastic; you're fabulous both of you, I love you."

"Where were you going Captain?"

"On my way to take the next flight for Dagobah."

"Dagobah? At this time of the year? Not such a good idea. Why won't you come with us, instead?"

Jack's heart made a new dip to his shoes, and hopefully Rose was there to help, because he wasn't able to give a coherent answer.

...

Epilogue

Jack and Rose were having tea in the library. It was, after the bridge, Jack's favourite room. He was telling Rose naughty stories about his stay. Rose was laughing; listening to her laugh was fantastic. He'd missed that laugh.

"Here's your key," the Doctor said when he came in to join them.

Jack was left speechless looking at it without really daring to reach out and take it, as if he was afraid it would disintegrate on contact.

"Take it. It's yours," the Doctor insisted with one of his almost scary ear to ear smiles. "You did a great job, Captain."

"Do you really think it will make a difference?" Jack asked.

"Of course it will," Doctor replied. "And a big one." The Time Lord hesitated a moment, then added, "In fact, the echoes of what you've done will spread across space and time."

"Seriously?" Jack asked horrified. "So why didn't you prevent me from...?"

"As a time traveller, I hope you are aware that time isn't linear, Captain." the Doctor said, frowning.

"Yes, but I was also told adding nodes to the ball isn't appropriate either," the Captain replied.

"No, of course. But some of these nodes are essential."

"Are you saying, you knew from the beginning I would provoke a temporal paradox?"

"I knew there was, at that point in space and time, the birth of a paradox. However, I didn't know you were the source of it until you made that decision," the doctor said putting the Tardis key in Jack's hand. "Now, Captain, you're officially a member of the Tardis crew."

Jack stayed once again speechless staring at his key, not knowing how all this was going to impact the rest of his very very long life.

End.

(*) In Children of the Past, Dagobah is a colony and Jack explains it must have been named by some of Lucas's fan.


End file.
